 infobox monster name goblin image goblin gif climate any non-arctic land freq uncommon organization tribe activity night diet carnivore int low to average 5-10 treasure c k align le number 4-24 ac 6 10 move 6 hd 1-1 thac0 20 numatt 1 dmg 1-6 by weapon sa nil sd nil sw sunlight mr nil size s 4' tall morale average 10 xp 15 source mm 163 special_desc sw &ndash; bright light gives goblins -1 to their to-hit rolls goblins have flat faces broad noses pointed ears wide mouths and small sharp fangs their foreheads slope back and their eyes are dull and glazed they always walk upright but their arms hang down almost to their knees their skin ranges from yellow through any shade of orange to a deep red though a single tribe usually has members all of about the same color skin their eyes vary from bright red to a gleaming lemon yellow they wear clothing of dark leather tending towards soiled-looking colors goblin speech is harsh and pitched higher than that of humans in addition to their own language some goblins can speak in the kobold dm kobold orc dm orc and hobgoblin dm hobgoblin tongues combat combat combat goblins hate bright sunlight and fight with a -1 on their attack rolls when in it this unusual sensitivity to light however serves the goblins well underground giving them infravision out to 60 feet they can use any sort of weapon prefering those that take little training like spears and maces they are known to carry short swords as a second weapon they are usually armored in leather although the leaders may have chain or even plate mail goblin strategies and tactics are simple and crude they are cowardly and will usually avoid a face-to-face fight more often than not they will attempt to arrange an ambush of their foes habitat society habitat society habitat society goblins or jebli live in a patriarchal society with the chief and his bodyguards on the top of the status ladder and the women and children on the bottom if there isn't enough food to go around first the males are allowed to eat then the females and finally the children in fact in times of famine the children are often left exposed to die in the wilderness female goblins are never taught the use of weapons or allowed to become warriors although they are occasionally allowed to become shaman or witch doctors by the goblin gods a typical goblin tribe has 40-400 4d10 x 10 adult male warriors for every 40 goblins there will be a leader and his 4 assistants each having 1 hit die 7 hit points for every 200 goblins there will be a sub-chief and 2-8 2d4 bodyguards each of which has 1 1 hit dice 8 hit points is armor class 5 and armed with a battle axe the tribe has a single goblin chief and 2-8 2d4 bodyguards each of 2 hit dice armor class 4 and armed with two weapons in addition to the males there will be adult females equal to 60 of their number and children equal to the total number of adults in the lair neither will fight in battles goblins have no concept of monogamy; all adults share in what could be called a communal marriage with the highest-status goblins having first pick from all available mates children or goblin-imps as they are also known are thus frequent in a goblin tribe the average female being pregnant about once a year on average from age 10 up to about 35 but child mortality is high with only half of all goblin children reaching adulthood children only remain with their mother until weaned usually at around 10 months at which point they are raised by the tribe collectively puberty begins at about age 10 at which point a goblin is considered a full-fledged member of the tribe although goblins do have a strict heirarchy within each tribe heritage is irrelevant to one one's status; the children of high-ranking goblins are treated no better than any other child the goblin lifespan is about 50 years with a lucky few living to 55 or even 60 due to hunger disease and the many predators and enemies goblin have however it is rare one lives this long most possessions owned by a goblin tribe are stolen from others although they can make simple leather garments and goods from the hides of animals killed during a hunt weaving is beyond most goblins but stitching is not and they do have the skill necessary to create cloth clothing from pieces of cloth gained elsewhere goblin status ladders are normally along these lines katar or chief komar or subchief mogur or leader witch doctors shaman wolf-riders elite warriors bodyguards of the leaders of the tribe or their peers goblin warriors female goblins goblin-imps the old crippled and sick slaves and prisoners there is a 25 chance that 10 of their force will be mounted upon huge worgs and have another 10-40 1d4x10 unmounted worgs with them there is a 60 chance that the lair is guarded by 5-30 5d6 such wolves and a 20 chance of 2-12 2d6 bugbears goblin shamans are rare but have been known to reach 7th level in skill though never above 5th level in spellcasting ability goblin witch-doctors are not unknown either the equivalent of priest wizards the tribe will have slaves of several races numbering 10-40 of the size of the tribe slaves are always kept shackled and are staked to a common chain when sleeping goblins hate most other humanoids gnomes and dwarves in particular and work to exterminate them whenever possible ecology ecology ecology food is often a concern to goblins and in fact their small size and relative weakness is the result of constant malnutrition having been pushed out of more lush areas by humans and demihumans they can barely scrape by with a hunter-gatherer existence the men of a tribe go out to hunt every day occasionally bringing down large prey such as a deer but usually concentrating on small game such as rabbits camprats and birds the females scavenge for plants as goblins do require some plant roughage to stay healthy the females dig for tubers collect nuts acorns and wild grains mainly grass seed and pluck various greens nettles dandelions sorrel these are all thrown into a huge ever-boiling pot or cauldron filled with goblin stew - a mixture of boiled bones bits of meat more-or-less edible plants and anything left over from previous meals it is similar to stew in some ways and gruel in others and virtually inedible to anything pickier than a goblin goblins are decent miners though not up to dwarven standards they are able to note new or unusual construction in an underground area 25 of the time and any habitat will soon be expanded by a maze-like network of tunnels alternate stat blocks alternate stat blocks alternate stat blocks goblin leader or his bodyguards  goblin leader mogur or bodyguard  ac 6 10 ; mv 6; hd 1-1; hp 7; thac0 19; #at 1; dmg 1d6 by weapon ; sw sunlight; sz s; ml 10; int low to average 5-10 ; al le; xp 15; mm 163 sw &ndash; bright light gives goblins -1 to their to-hit rolls goblin subchief or his bodyguards  goblin subchief kumar   ac 5 10 ; mv 6; hd 1 1; hp 8; thac0 19; #at 1; dmg 1d8 battle axe ; sw sunlight; ml 10; int low to average 5-10 ; al le; xp 35; mm 163 sw &ndash; bright light gives goblins -1 to their to-hit rolls goblin chief or his bodyguards  goblin chief katar   ac 4 10 ; mv 6; hd 2; thac0 18; #at 2; dmg 1d8 1d6 battle axe shortsword ; sw sunlight; sz s; ml 10; int low to average 5-10 ; al le; xp 35; mm 163 sw &ndash; bright light gives goblins -1 to their to-hit rolls goblin shaman  goblin shaman  ac 6 10 ; mv 6; hd 1 2-1; thac0 20; #at 1; dmg 1d6 mace ; sa priest spells see below ; sw sunlight; sz s; ml 10; int low to average 5-10 ; al le; xp 35; mm 163 sw &ndash; bright light gives goblins -1 to their to-hit rolls goblin shamen are the priests of goblin tribes they can reach up to the equivalent of 5th level in priestly magic and have access to the following spheres all charm combat divination elemental air elemental earth guardian healing protection war and wards they do not get extra spellcasting slots for high ability scores but they are not penalized for low scores once per day they can perform a divination usually by casting bones and reading the results ; this is the equivalent of an augury that foretells weal or woe for that day shamans of bargrivyek dm bargrivyek a lesser goblin deity also occasionally speak in tongues they begin speaking randomly in multiple different languages not all of them known to the speaker afterward the speaker has no memory of what they said but the display heartens any nearby goblins giving them a 1 bonus to all attack damage and saving throw rolls for the rest of the day with the sign that their god is with them all of their enemies suffer a -1 penalty to atack damage and saving throw rolls from the display and must successfully make a saving throw vs spell or flee as if hit with a fear spell goblin witch doctor  goblin witch doctor  ac 10; mv 6; hd 1 2-1; thac0 20; #at 1; dmg 1d6 by weapon ; sa wizard and priest spells; sw sunlight; sz s; ml 10; int low to average 5-10 ; al le; xp 15; mm 163 sw &ndash; bright light gives goblins -1 to their to-hit rolls goblin witch doctors are the goblin equivalent of priest wizards they can reach up to the equivalent of 3rd level in priestly magic and 3rd level in wizardly and have access to the following spheres all charm combat divination elemental air elemental earth guardian healing protection war and wards they also have access to a single school of wizardly spells but can only know spells from that school they can never be more than one level of priest above their level of wizard but their level of wizard can never be more than their level of priest once per day they can perform a divination usually by casting bones and reading the results ; this is the equivalent of an augury that foretells weal or woe for that day they can also curse one foe per level a day causing a penalty to that person person's attack damage and saving throws equal to -1 per level of the witch doctor doctor's wizard ability until a remove curse or other similar magic is used 